I don't know about you but over the last few years I have noticed an increase in the people I meet who are suffering with Chronic illnesses. Conditions such as Fibromyalgia, Crohns disease, Chronic fatigue, MS, ME and many more are becoming more and more prevalent in our land. I started thinking about the link between the changes in lifestyles and the increase in such disorders. Now I am not a Doctor but I have my own personal experience with a auto immune condition so I do h

I started thinking about anger in more depth after writing and facilitating 5 week of anger management sessions. The people that attended the course were not stereotypically 'angry' people in fact quite the opposite. The group (all women) were all very pleasant, lovely kind hearted ladies- so what were they doing on my course? It got me thinking about perceptions and how people experience their anger. Often as children we are taught that anger is bad or naughty so we don't le

I was reminded this week when thinking about going for a jog (note the thinking about I didn't actually get out the door!) how important it is to invest in people and our relationships. I was always a good short distance runner in my teens but when it came to the long races I was terrible! As a counsellor relationships in my experience are not 100m races but long marathons that have highs and lows. Often it feels as though we have to put a lot of energy into our relationships

As I glanced at the daffodils I had bought four days earlier I was disappointed to find they had not managed to come to full bloom. Some of them had tried to come out and died round the edges, others had curled up and most disappointingly many had not come out at all. As I thought about this I recognised two things. 1. I brought the daffodils in January when they are spring flowers. 2. I was expecting them to bloom 'normally' when they clearly were just not ready! In today's

Having worked for 5 years in a residential rehab for women with drug and alcohol addictions I do not really know where to start with trying to describe addiction and what it means to me. What I do know is that addiction is a cruel, heartless disease that can kill and destroy people, families and anything good in its path. I have seen the heartache and the pain that the cycle of addiction can bring and how it is never ever something that someone can ‘just stop.’ It is an all e

Mindfulness is everywhere at the moment especially 'mindful eating' but what is it? Can any one do it? and what is the point? Mindfulness is all about noticing what is going on for you in the here and now. It is acknowledging the current moment including your body, thoughts, feelings, enviroment sounds, smells and noises around you. Mindful eating is to become more aware of what you are eating and why you are eating it. Again the sensations, smells, tastes and textures. ​How